Many shipping users often choose private carriers, such as FedEx, DHL and others, as opposed to the U.S. Postal Service for shipping packages. Shipping packages using these private carriers may cost more than shipping a package through the U.S. Postal Service. However, private carriers offer online services over the Internet that provide for online ordering and local client printing of shipping labels that allow the user to track the status of shipment and delivery. Except for Express Mail and a few special shipping classes, the U.S. Postal Service has historically not provided computerized tracking technology, such as for regular shipping.
The computerized generation and printing of U.S. postage over the Internet is well known in the art. Internet postage provides the printing of “stamps” as well as from and to address labels. A way is needed so that an individual user can request over the Internet the generation and printing at a printer configured with the user's client computer of a U.S. Postal Service (“USPS”) shipping label that provides not only postage and address labels, but also provides for shipment and delivery tracking.